Means for air cooling the cylinders of internal-combustion engines



Nov. 4, 1930. J. BOWEN 1,780,809

MEANSFOR AIR COOLING THE CYLINDERS OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Aug. 8, 1928 2 Sheets-Shaet 1 Nov. 4, 1930. J, BOWEN 1,780,809

MEANS FOR AIR COOLING THE CYLINDERS OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION mamas Filed Aug. 8, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jAn/zlvraia chm ,6 a wen) Patented Nev. 4, 1930 JAMES BOWEN, or SWANSEA, WALES 'OFFICE'.

MEANS FOR AIR COOLING THE CYLINDERS or INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Application filed August 8,1928, Serial No. 298,324,511111 in Great Britain August 23, 1927 The invention relates tomeans for air cooling the engines of internal combustion engines, which provide for setting up a forced air current over the cylinder or cylinders of the engine, to assist in cooling said engine,

the temperature of the engine, and so retain said engine, at as far as possible, a uniform and most eflicient' temperature at all engine speeds and loads.

The present invention is characterized by the employment of a thermostat element consisting of an elongated member constructed to bend under the influence of heat, fixed at one end and having its other end free, said free end being coupled to a control valve located in the air passage.

In carrying out the invention I' prefer to employ an engine-driven pump, either asucder fins. In the example shown 1n the drawtion or a pressure producing pump, for creating the air current in the acket, sald pump r serving either to extract the hot air from said jacket by suction or to force it therefrom out of suitable outlets by pressure as the case may be. A regulating valve of butterfly or other suitable form is furnished in the air passage between the pump and jacket, said valve forming part of the air current controlling or regulating means which latter includes also a thermostat element associated with the jacket, which is constructed to distort from a normal position by the efli'ect of heat, the regulating valve being connected or coupled to a part of said element which becomes thus distorted, either directed or through the medium of suitable intermediate elements. The thermostat element preferably is in the form of a fluidfilled tube, accommodated in a' suitable hous-,

in 7 v in order that the invention may be readily understood reference is directed to the accompanying drawings illustrating apparatus of practical form in accordance therewith, wherein Figure 1 is a side view of said apparatus shown applied to a two-cylinder air-cooled engine,

' Figure 2 is an end view of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a plan View of Figure 1, Figure 4 -1S a sectional view of one of the cylinder-engaging jackets, and

Figure 5, is a plan view of one of thethermostat elements and the housing therefor.

Similar references indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Over the upper part orhead of each of the cylinders a of the engine is fitted a jacket 1 in the form of a cap in the top and side wall of which are formeda plurality of perforations 2, said jacket being held in position on the cylinder by means of retaining bolts 3 which extend from above the. top of said,

jacket to below the cylinder cooling fins 6, against the bottom edges of which latter bear nuts 4 which are screwedon to. said bolts. Internally the jacket is cast'with a plurality of air baffles or fins 5 so arranged, according to the arrangement of the engine cylinderfins,

that they assume. positions between said cylinvertical-fins with the air battles in the jacket j fashioned to suit, butobviously the, jacket could be constructed with horizontal battles for use with acylinder having horizontal fins.

The bottom of'thecap 1 is formed with a flange 6 and below the said flangeis fitted an annular channel-section housing 7 i with the mouth of the channel uppermost, a fibre or other packing ring being interposed between the bottom of the cap 1 andsaid housing? to form a tight and,heatdnsulating,joint. The housingI7 is formed with fixture lugs 9 through which pass fixing screws which screw into correspondinglugs or other suitable part of the cap 1, said screwsserving to clamp the said housing to the cap. The bolt holes in the lugs 9 may'have fibre'bushes so as to prevent the conduction of heat via the bolts. In the hollow of the housing 7 is i'accommodated'a thermostat element 10v consisting of an arcuate closed metal tube, having a degreeof flexibility, preferably'ofoval or elliptical section, which isfilled with suitable fluid. The saidt-ube is fixed at one end by a lug. 11 or the equivalent to the housing ,7, the remainder of said tubebeing capable of tree 1 movement, and said tube is spring influenced or'made ofa material having inherent spring v a v1ug13which is. pivotally connected to;one

' limb of said rocker is M101; 16 which is 15 qualities, so that normally its free end assumes a position in fairlyclose proximity to theinner wall of the housing. The eflect of coil. The free end of said tube has connected to it a flexible cable 12, which passes out of the housing and has fiXed to its other end limb '14 of a pivoted rocker. In the other traversed by a pin 17' projecting from a disc 18 mountedon the spindle of a butterfly valve i v 19, thelatter being' mounted in and serving torgu late the current of air passing through a duct 20v which latter consists of an integral radial extension of the. cap 1. Thus the thermostat' tube,10' serves to actuate the valve 19' I through the mediumfof the cable '12,.the-rock-.

jacket for engagement on the cylinder and er '14, 15 and the disc 18, the valve 19normal- 'Iy being closed correspondingto the free end of the tube 10 being in its innermost position. V I I j J To the ducts'20 areconnected branches'21 froma manifoldpipe 22, one end of said manifold pipe communicating via an intermediate pipe 23 with a suction pump 24 constantly driven by theengine, the saidpump *serving'to extract the hot air from the manifold pipe and jackets when the. valves 19 become opened. At the other end of the manifold pipe 22' is fitted a suitable relief valve 25 which is spring influenced and opens automatically to admit air from atmosphere into' I 'the'pipe 22 and prevent toogr'eat a decrease i V in pressure "in said pipe when the valves are 4:0

shut, as for instance,when the engine is being started up from cold.

- Any suitable fluid ofsuitable specific grav- In testimony the valve-to closeand reduce theair current passage. T

If desired, the relief valve 25 also may be operated by the thermostat tube, or an auxiliary thermostat purpose. 1

specially provided for this- V'arious-constructional modifications'may be madein the apparatus herein described, without departing from the scope of the in-. .vention. I

prising a jackethaving heat dissipating fins therein-for engagementbetween the fins of the cylinder when thej'acket is engaged thereon, means engageable with the fins of the cylinder for retaining the jacket thereon, and

means for creatingisuction in the jacket.

2. A cooling device forlthecylinder of an 7 internal combustion engine comprlsing a having an annular flange, an annular housing associated wlth the acket, said housing havcreating suction in the j acket, and a heat responsive element confined in theh-ousing for controlling the movement of the valve. whereof I I have 1 hereunto signedmynamet v I f- JAMIEES BOWEN.

. 'ity may-be'used inthe thermostate tube but ia particularly suitable liquid which I may use for the purp I distillation of wood 98%).

' safety valve to Instead of pr'oducin the manifold pipe'22.

described will serve to retain .theengine at a j g a suctionefi'ectythepump'Q l may be a pressure producing pump,

in which case it deliverscool'air tothem'ani- ,foldgpipe22' and to thejacketsrl, and serves "todischarge the hot'air therefrom. Infthis case thevalve. 25 will be'in the form of a '1 V release undue pressure vfrom se is methyl alcohol (OH 0H,

. It will be renewed that the apparatus-above I i practically uniformpredetermined tempera- I. ture. 'Shoul'd said'temperature exceedsuch predetermined; degree. the thermostat tube i Y openthevalve to a greater extent; Should the will tend tostraighten, and in 'doingso, will mg an open upper end closed bysald flange, v a valve associated with thejacket, means for 

